ENGL 250C Intro to Grant Writing
In this service-learning course, students will hone their research, writing, revising, professional, and interpersonal skills by researching funding options and writing a grant proposal for a local non-profit organization. Students will partner with an organization to learn about its mission, strengths, and needs; to research possible funding sources for the organization; and finally, to write a grant proposal or report for an existing grant on behalf of the organization, seeking feedback from both the organization and course instructor at each stage. In 2017 and 2018, students wrote successfully funded grant proposals for Girls on the Run, Valleyview Elementary School, the Oneonta Fire Department, and the Community Arts Network of Oneonta. Grant writing and proposal-writing skills are highly sought by employers, and students who gain experience with this unique kind of writing will gain highly marketable skills and experiences. These skills align with Hartwick's mission of melding the liberal arts with experiential learning, as students will work with real proposals and real organizations. This course is inspired in part by the recent PayScale survey, in which 80 percent of Hartwick alumni responded that they believe their work "makes the world a better place."